The present invention relates to an elongated plastic member which can be used as a piling and a method for making such a member.
Concrete, steel, and wood are conventionally used for pilings, telephone poles, and the like. However each of these materials has disadvantages. Concrete and steel pilings are heavy and awkward to maneuver. Neither concrete nor steel pilings make good fender pilings because neither is "forgiving" when impacted. Under impact steel bends and buckles and concrete shatters. Both concrete and steel pilings are expensive to repair. Furthermore, steel, either standing alone or as a reinforcement in porous concrete, is subject to corrosion. Due to the weight of steel pilings, they can be difficult to transport.
Wood pilings are plagued by wear and tear and are attacked by wood boring marine organisms. Wood pilings are typically treated with creosote, but even this material can be ineffective against modern marine borers. These marine borers can only be stopped by wrapping the wood pilings in plastic coverings. However these plastic coverings cannot withstand much wear and tear, especially abrasion from normal vessel contact. So in addition to a thin plastic wrap, wooden fender piles often require thick plastic wrappings, which are expensive to put in place.
When wood is used for telephone poles, the poles are subject to attack from the environment. Woodpeckers love telephone poles, and in desert locations, telephone poles are subject to severe erosion from sandstorms.
In view of these problems with conventional pilings and telephone poles, there is a need for pilings and telephone poles that have a long life, are easily installed, environmentally sound, and durable in use.